


Across Fodlan's Air

by 609Ellie



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Long-Distance Relationship, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-04 01:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21189635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/609Ellie/pseuds/609Ellie
Summary: After the Empire begins its war. The tenuous threads that hold together Fodlan begin to fray. Marianne is forced into hiding, and only Hilda knows where she is.





	1. Beginning

Dearest Hilda.

I pray this message finds you well. I have settled in a small village north-east of the capital called Lillté. The residents were weary at first - as they would naturally be at any stranger arriving bearing an unknown crest and a desire to lay under the eyes of the government. But when I presented my Garreg Mach graduation badge and my willingness to only ask only for board they accepted my tenancy. I offered my tomes and sword to protect them of local affairs if they protect me from national ones. I should be able to hide here until I can return safely once again - Lillté is a little under a day’s travel from the capital meaning whilst technically under their eye directly rather than a local lord - it lacks enough economy or strategy for it to be paid attention too. It wouldn’t surprise me if most local townships had not heard of it, but it’s promised to keep my safe.

The weather had been gray for most of my travel, but as I write this letter the sun is setting and the sky has broken to a vivid shade of pink. It may well be prophetic - it may just be my wishful thinking, but it gives me hope I won’t need to stay here too long. My robes have been stained with mud that I can’t find the energy to remove. The innkeeper has offered to clean them for me but I declined the offer - in honesty I’m not sure why - it filled me with fear, the thought of handing them to him. Perhaps the hasty nature of my departure has shook my trust in people. Maybe the look in his eyes of skepticism of my presence reminded me too much of the mob. Either way - he’s not the person I want to see right now.

If you address future correspondence simply to the Sleepy Falcon Inn in Lillté, it will find its way to me. I trust I needn’t say my name shouldn’t be included with that. 

Marianne.

~~~

Marianne!!

I cannot explain to you the feelings I felt when I saw your elegant writing on an envelope inside a mountain of useless letters from the family about politics and the war and whatever stupid decree Claude has had to put up to keep the nobles happy. I’d been forced to spend the morning training on horseback(!) of all things so I was prepared to just flop into bed and shoot the shit with Leonie until lightout was called but now I’ve got the energy to run to you right now~ 

Of course I was never scared though. You were never going to run off in that state and not get back in touch with me. That worry isn’t good for my skin! So now you’ve written the letter it’s your duty to keep them coming to save me from ever having to consider that you’d be gone! 

I took a poke through the main library in Derdriu and saw Lillté listed on some report. It’s practically in the middle of nowhere so you should be safe there.

Since you scarperd not much has changed. Being assigned to Claude’s personal guard should be the cushiest deal in the military, no strategy that master tactician would ever come up with would involve putting himself in any actual danger so we’re just putting on a strong face to keep the belief in his side high. But it feels like I’m working every day like a workhorse (that reminds me, Dorte’s doing great!) so I feel like I’ve got no time just to relax and treat myself! If Edlegard and her dumb empire make it here we’ll give them hell but I doubt he’d let anything happen to us even if they did. 

Look at me, talking in circles again! The longer I take scribbling together these nothings the longer I have to wait to hear from you again! You’ll have to tell me all about Lillté in your next letter, some boggy village in the middle of nowhere is hardly fitting of a lady of your grace so you absolutely must explain to me why I’m so wrong thinking that’s where you are.

Your boo, Hilda

~~~

Dearest Hilda.

I had prepared myself to never see a return letter, I'd thought that my cursed bad luck had perhaps caught up with me and the letter had been lost - or worse, fallen into the hands of those looking for me. I will now be able to rest easy knowing my one lifeline to the rest of the Alliance is still there. 

In the short time I’ve been here I have already become fond of Lillté - even if my finest words won’t be enough to wipe away the dirt from your image of it, last night the inn had to remove its patrons through the stable doors as the mud due outside the front door had become too thick to walk through. But the village is close to nature the way a city can never be. I have spent my mornings resting in the local chapel listening to the birds chirp through the broken stain-glass windows and praying for the tranquillity I feel in that moment to spread across Fódlan faster than the flames of war. I’ve heard that they’ve reached The Great Bridge of Myrddin by now, but not which side came out triumphant. Such a beautiful piece of architecture to be a scene for something so horrible. Is that not the gateway into House Gloucester's territory? - I pray Lorenz will be okay.

I'm afraid to say that I've been struggling to sleep here - the nights this far into the countryside are as tranquil as a church at night yet I've been finding so much deafening about the silence. I've been woken up in the middle of the night by the sounds of shattering glass and swords being drawn - then I look up and see the room in a state of total stillness. In the pitch blackness of the night I see the shape of the mark of The Beast haunting me to a degree I've no felt in years. Loneliness never concerned me for so much of my life, not until I'd realised how close I'd gotten to you - now I hate being alone like this.

Please keep yourself safe, long enough for this whole mess to be figured out, I’m not sure I could live with myself knowing I could’ve been there to help you if something happened. 

Marianne

~~~

Don’t worry about it Marianne, your location’s safe with me. I’ve let Leonie in on our secret just because she’s bunking with me so trying to hide it from her would be only cause everyone to stare more. She’s on our side as always so has promised to keep it zipped.

That dastard Acheron's to be out of the picture soon, Claude called for a redistribution of power between the noble houses and casually made his heirage somehow even weaker in the process so once we can calm down those looking for you there’s no risk of him trying that stupid stunt again. If this’d only happened sooner maybe we'd've been able to pluck that stupid moustache from his face before he'd reached House Edmund. There's still no word on the location of Margrave Edmund and even less idea what the Alliance is going to actually do with him if they find him. 

If you ever want to reconsider and face this issue head-on, I'm here to back you up. Although I think this kind of hiding is no way suitable for a lady like yourself I get why you wouldn't want to and why you are where you are. Diplomacy is hard.

It’s so weird that you’re all off-the-grid know I don’t know what to tell you. Dorte’s missing you almost as much as I am but Ignatz has proven surprisingly good at keeping him calm so he’s coming around to the news. You should see the two together! Leonie dared him to try to paint the horse whilst riding the thing and you should’ve seen the look on Ig’s face as he considered it before Dorte disagree. Ooie can that horse kick when it wants too! I’m sure the new healing staff took twice as long as you would have to patch up that broken arm Ignatz was so kindly gifted.

I’m sure the news of the war isn’t interesting to you but word of our former friends is so I better tell you that Lorenz immediately caved to the Empire when they arrived at the bridge, electing to surrender as soon as they entered the Alliance. But hey, less bloodshed which is a plus. 

Stay Strong, and keep me updated whenever you can, I could bore you with details of the war but I doubt you want to hear about all that stuff. We’re doing great, promise!! 

Hilda <3

P.s. Just because we’re at war doesn’t mean I’ve given up on my own passions, in the letter should also be a pair of earrings I’ve made in my spare time. They’re studded with Spinel so they’ll remind you of me and should go great with your eyes~

~~

Dearest Hilda.

I’m glad to hear the news. Margrave Edmund was not a malicious man but he struggled with listening to others. If he’s found please try to do something so he doesn’t end up hurt, without him I’d’ve never been enrolled in Garreg Mach and would have never met you - I’m honestly not certain I’d be alive right now without him. He always wanted what was best for me - he was just a poor judge of what was best. 

The earrings are too beautiful, I don’t feel worthy of them as I have nothing I can offer back to you in return. I’m sorry. 

When I’ve not been needed to keep peace as a guardian of the village as of yet - I’ve been helping the locals with their workload. Lillté is mostly a self-sufficient village thanks to being located near a river the goddess blesses to be bountiful. Getting used to the smell has been difficult, but the moving of materials between the river and the village is a job that would need to be done so an extra pair of arms can only make the job easier, even though I’m still as weak as ever. I’ve discovered I’m not one for fishing though - so during that time I’ve taken to walking in the local countryside. Once I’m out of view of the village I can pretend I’m anywhere in Fódlan, somewhere closer to home - it’s a thought that I need to get me through the day sometimes.

Tell Ignatz to treat Dorte well as too. He’s a very particular horse so if he’s even half taken to Ignatz then he’s done better than most. Just tell Ignatz to listen with his heart when Dorte is restless and he should have no problems.

Marianne

~~~

Marianne, I’m frankly disappointed in you. I know my gift is obviously of the craftswomanship worth of the goddess herself but to return such a heartfelt gift! If you weren’t so darn earnest about everything I’d frankly be insulted...

I’d be insulted if I weren’t so surprised! You were never a slacker at the academy but to hear you being such a handywoman around the village is a news story, if I weren’t keeping you as my precious little secret I’d tell the class right away. Remember when we’d get stuck on weeding duty together around the grounds? You’d always panic you were doing something wrong and I’d have to help you out. Something about being around you always wanted to make me work hard. I hated the work but I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything (well, except maybe to have you back right now <3)

Big brother Holst is taking an elite unit to the front lines soon and Claude wants me to join him. He doesn’t want me to get involved in the fighting, just to get some first-hand experience at being in a full-on commander’s position or something like that. The Empire have completed their takeover of Myrddin and are pressing into Ordelia. That’s dangerously close to Goneril my home though so I think he’s wanting to put us a bit closer to it in case the worst happens, which it won’t, because Holst is so great. We’ll head over Ordelia, kick over some Empire goons until they run away and I’ll head back to Derdriu for a well-earned break. 

I know exaaactly what you’re like Marianne, so I’ve not re-sent you both earrings, just the one. Put it in and don’t take it out, I’ll wear the other that way it’s like I’m right there beside you. 

Hilda :)

~~~

Dearest Hilda

Lillté being so disconnected gives me the hiding place I seek but has it’s disadvantages too. There’s a young boy in the village - he can barely be 5 years-old which means this war is barely younger than him, and he reminds me of you in a way. Both his parents conscripted upon the outset of conflict and left him in the eyes of his Grandfather. This grandfather is frail, not fit to raise the boy right, but he’s far too young to contribute to the village or move to a neighboring town for apprenticeship. Lillté is a tightly run ship and the residents greatly care about him but have no time for him during the day. Some days if I can be excused - I try to find him and keep him entertained, help him read or to build something out of lumps of wood. Other times he’s nowhere to be seen and the only thing I can do is pray for him to find his way home once the evening falls. 

He reminds me of the you I met when we both first enrolled at Garreg Mach. A bright ray of sunlight quashed by a directionless wind. As we grew together you became the beautiful woman you are now and helped me in my feeble attempts to do the same - but would the same outcome have come without the support around us? Is it even worth concerning myself with that now. I know I can’t be that to him, not when I need to remain vigilant of my position, but I’m hoping I can keep him together long enough to where he’ll find it. 

When on maneuvers at Garreg Mach we went through dozens of bandits, thieves, pirates ourselves and thought we were doing the right thing. We never knew them, they were just bad. But this boy’s parents are fighting now.

I pray your campaign into Ordelia sees a peaceful resolution. As peaceful one as the goddess can muster.

Marianne.

~~~

Hi Marianne! It’s been a long few weeks for me but I’m finally home to Derdriu and back to my comfy bunk. 

Seeing your letter on my pillow nearly got me crying where I was standing, if it weren’t for the ruckus from Raphael reuniting with the lunchhall the floor below I might’ve embarrassed myself and stained the thing with tears before I got to read it. I know you’re something special but you can have such an effect on me from all that distance away! If only your sweet voice could be carried the same way…

I thought I’d heard it all with you working with the fishing folk, but hearing you become an impromptu mother as well? You’re letters are full of endless surprises. 

The situation at Ordelia wasn’t exaaactly what I’d call ideal. The Empire’s forces were a lot stronger than even Claude could have anticipated and by the time Holst made it there he was forced to mobilise the troops. I managed to talk my way out of being sent down there myself but from our position we could tell the situation was dire. (I say was, it still is sadly that way). Holst was only supposed to temporarily be in Ordelia to stave of the worst of it and leave it steady and return with us but he’s still there and the Empire isn’t letting up. I put him through the ropes growing up though so he can handle anything they’ll throw at him. 

I’m seriously missing you here now. I guess being sent away let me trick myself into thinking that you’d be there when I returned! All I’ve got here to keep me company is an old dress you left here. Did you know about it? It was from the ball back at the academy. I found it in a trunk of supplies that they were clearing out when you left to return to Margrave Edmund. I’d never fit in it if I tried but sometimes I hold it to feel like you’re there.

That whole praying thing is beyond me, but I guess that dress is what I pray too that you’ll be back soon. This Alliance needs to get their stuff together and clear your name!

Hold on Marianne, Hilda.

~~~

Dearest Hilda

It pains me to hear as much as it pains me myself. But I may well have something I can try to reach you even from Lillté.

When I was in the library at Garreg Mach I read of a technique used on another continent of long distance communication. Used primarily to communicate across a battlefield - speaking down the spine of a gently open wind tome can allow your words to be carried into the air itself and in the direction of one’s choosing. I have a wind tome remaining but it’s weak and likely wouldn’t last more than one attempt - I’ll gladly spend it’s final uses on this if it will make you feel better. If you can let me know when you can get somewhere free from disturbance I’ll try to get a message to you.

Marianne.

~~~

Marianne you genius! I have no idea if this will work but it’s worth a try. On the 9th of the Harpstring Moon I’ll make my way just a little way south down the Derdrick coast. That should be far enough down the road where you can write back and cancel if you don’t think you’re sure you can do it? The peak of the cliffs in sight of the city. Remember? I’ll stand atop that cliff and wait for you, all night if I have too. Sometime after lightout at 10. I won’t be too upset if I don’t hear anything but if you fail you’re going to have to make me come up with something and you wouldn’t want to put me through that would you?

I’ve never been more excited! Hilda :D

~~~

Marianne. I’m writing this as I arrive at the coast. I’ve not been here very long but I couldn’t wait. I’m standing at the clifftop just waiting to hear you, even the slightest echo and whisper will satiate my heart. I’m honestly not sure why I’m writing! I just have so much energy out of nowhere, something about you has always brought such a vigor out of me that I just want to write! Sneaking out of the barracks wasn’t easy but Leonie agreed to spot me right out the gate and once I was out of the quarters it was okay. Once I was free of the guards I ran through the streets of Derdriu like I was a little schoolgirl again with my arms apart like I could fly. 

The walk down the coast gave me time to think. We’ve been writing back and forth for months now. I thought what happened at House Edmund were just some rustling of the local feathers and your response was an overreaction, but the issue is still a serious dividing point in the Alliance. Sadly I think you’ve become the posterchild for how generally unhappy people are with Claude’s ruling strategy, the whole ‘let the issues play themselves out and put it back together stronger’ works well on paper doesn’t it? But that same lack of direct action hurt you! Shutting them up sooner could’ve meant you were still here. Not forcing me to sit here and hope just to hear your voice.

I couldn’t ask for a better night to wait for you though. The sky is clear, the ocean air is fresh and cold. The stars, I hope you’re looking at them too. The same stars I’ve always seen suddenly look so much brighter! They’re like a thousand pearls floating in a sea of endless silk. Even if I don’t hear anything I hope you’re looking at them too because I’d hate to have to describe them all to you, one by one, that’d be just so much work! There’s a million of them, a billion more that I can’t see right now, a trillion more I’ll never see! Each one casting light on this one moment I can barely comprehend all the eyes just...

_ ~Ever since the first time that I heard your name~ _

_ ~Nothing's ever been the same~ _

_ ~Even when you're far away, so far away~ _

_ ~Your name's the only name I say~ _

_ ~So if the world has ever got you feeling down~ _

_ ~Just know I’ll always try to be around~ _

_ ~Remember that I’ll always be there~ _

_ ~In the end, you'll always be my dearest friend~ _

...oh Marianne. 

How you keep surprising me I’ll never know.

You’ll be home soon, promise.

I love you.

Hilda.

~~~

The sound of a large stone crashing through a window jerked Marianne up from her sleep. It came through with a deafening crash and hit the back wall, shattering the mirror and crushing the desk below it. 

Marianne had only returned to Lord Margrave’s manor the night before last, with their position in the Alliance they were too far from the front lines of the war for this to be a sneak-attack from the Empire or even the Kingdom in a cruel twist of fate. She immediately darted up and looked through the now broken window over the grounds of the manor. A troupe of dozens of figures, some in plated armour, others bearing magic robes, others gently hovering their hands over longbows, all stood in a disorganised formation at the edge of the grounds. In front of them all sat a figure she recognised but couldn’t name on horseback who began to address. 

“Margrave Edmund, release that wicked beast you hide so thoughtlessly or face the might of those who refuse to live so close to such a monster”. Marianne stood in shock, before backing away and rushing out of her room.

Already the manor guard were mobilizing. She ran through the halls looking for him as a dozen other faces, equally dazed from their sudden awakening moved through the rooms preparing themselves for a fight. There would never be enough of them to repel the forces of the mystery man outside, at its peak the manor hosted half as many defensive units as she saw, that was before the war required so many to be sent to the conflict proper. She had to think they didn’t know that, otherwise she’d be more fearful than she already was.

She turned into the dining hall as she heard the man’s voice once again muffled through a window she scrambled to open.

“...this one as our final warning” the man declared before gesturing to a small group of mages to his right. As they began to glow a dim red light. And a great wall of fire shot across the grounds directly toward the building, Marianne collapsed backwards and covered her face.

The fire stopped right as it reached the building, intentionally stopping short of the building, but shattering all the windows on the front and leaving all the greenery at the front of the manor an inferno. Marianne sat there as she desperately thought of what she was supposed to do. What on earth was even happening right now. She had only returned to the manor briefly for some respite and it had been torn so thoroughly from her. 

As she cradled herself, she felt a gentle gloved hand patted her shoulder, and felt the presence of the figure stumble forward to the window, surveying the damage that had been done. “Mari, this isn’t good”

Margrave Edmund turned to face her as she wiped away the fear from her eyes. Even in a time like this he naturally gave off a sense of comfort, even as the fire had begun to snake towards the building and the creaking of ancient wood and stone began to overpower the crackles of flame and cacophony of soldier desperately preparing to push back.    
“That Acheron’s always looking for a way to get a leg up in the Alliance; that bastard weathervane’s always spinning to face the way he thinks has least resistance.” He collapsed down onto one knee as he plucked a frayed shard of glass from his forearm, she quickly reached to support him and he managed to crack a small smile to hide the shooting pain the wound left.

“B-but, why.”

“What else could it be? This whole damn land’s obsessed with those stupid Crests. It’s the reason half these morons breath.”

Marianne recoiled merely at the thought. Her Crest that she thought for so long brought nothing but misery and pain. She thought it was a secret...

“That’s why I sent you to that academy, paid so much for them to stay quiet. They killed your parents over it before and this time they’ve come for us. There have always been rumours across the Alliance that the bearers of Maurice’s crest are demons or vampires. The mark of The Beast means nothing, you’ve never hurt a fly, it’s all these idiots who get scarred by it who hurt people. They thought you were dead and that I just so happened to adopt some random girl shortly after. Acheron must’ve put the pieces together and taken it as a chance to paint himself the hero. I just never thought there was this much force behind the people who thought this way.”

Another powerful gust of wind burst through the building, with no more windows to break all it could do was disrupt the foundation further. Marianne pulled their heads down quickly to avoid a stray clump of rubble from the quickly disintegrating roof. 

As he looked back up, he looked her directly in the eyes. A rare occurrence for him, usually too afraid to meet a gaze directly. “Run Marianne, get out of here now. I’ll hold them off while I can”

“Where do I go though? If he can muster this much hate for me in our own land he’ll find me anywhere.”

He coughed, as he jerked back down and Marianne picked up more of his weight.

“...go to the Empire. These stupid nobels will kick and scream to the bitter end here, the Kingdom’s the same, this stupid superstition about that crest you bare is all the same over there. The Empire is fighting to tear the whole thing down. That’s where you’ll find safety, where that stupid thing won’t hurt you any more.

“B-...”

“Do it for me. I want you to be safe…”

Margrave Edmund summoned all his force and pushed himself back onto his own two legs. Illuminated by the fire raging, now having creeped through the battered window and into the dining hall he looked like a silhouette. He picked up his lance once again and before Marianne could fully comprehend what he had told her to do he was gone as a pillar of fire erupted from the manor’s garden. Lead by the call to charge by Acheron.

The next thing she knew, she was looking over the place she had called home an inferno as more and more onlookers gathered to witness the event.

Then she too was gone.


	2. The neverending middle

Dearest Hilda.

It warms my heart to hear my message got to you safely - sadly the tome disintegrated in the process as I feared so I won’t be able to try it again unless I can somehow get my hands on another tome of wind. But if it even brought you a moment of joy as bright as the joy knowing it reached you gave me - then I wouldn’t sacrifice it for all the stars in the sky. They were truly beautiful weren’t they? After my tome succumbed I sat atop the church roof and gazed upon them until the sunrise and was made to return before the locals noticed me. Even after all this time it’s still the same sky that our ancestors saw, and the same sky that countless generations to come after us will look at. Countless moments just like ours will all have been witnessed by the same heavens.

Marianne

~~~

Y’know something? After what I heard that night you’ve got to step up your penmanship Marianne. You set a high standard with the serenade and these silly old letters aren’t meeting it. You’ve got to get your butt here and make up for it!

I kid of course. It was truly incredible though! Even with Fódlan’s resistance to the outside world you’d think a trick as useful as that would have made it through the cracks somehow. To carry such a pretty and delicate voice all the way across the land like you were whispering in my ear directly.

I’ve enclosed in the letter another one of my works, a little emerald and pearl bracelet I’ve strung together in my spare time again. It’s not quite the same but I hope you l No trying to return it this time too! I know what you’re going to think.  _ Ooo, it’s too pretty. I couldn’t accept this knowing how much effort you put into it _ . Like please. Some natty trinket like this couldn’t buy you anything as valuable as that gesture. If you try I’ll just send back something even bigger and even more clunky so you better take it!

Won’t you please come home soon, we’ll keep you safe. I’ll keep you safe to the end. They won’t get to you again.

Hilda.

~~~

Dearest Hilda

It appears word of my curse has finally reached as far as Lillté. A little after noon today an unaligned mercenary came to the village - announcing a search and bounty on a woman of my description. Has the hunt for me really got that much backing in the Alliance as to reach as far as here? I guess even with Acheron’s power neutered yet again, the power of his fearmongering is not so easily quelled. Or is it simply the promise of whatever bounty the scholars have placed that allowed the rumormill to claim its victims? I am eternally grateful that the people of Lillté elected to remain quiet on my presence, but I was shortly confronted on the issue by the local priest on behalf of the residents. He told me what he was told, a horrible corruption of the truth, that I was some untamable beast that was feeding on misfortune and would take away their children in the night. To hear those stories made my stomach turn and thinking about them still places a heavy weight on my heart.

I confessed everything to him. How I had originally been on Claude’s private guard with the rest of the Golden Deer. How my mere existence on the guard had offended the goddess fearing nobels enough to cause a call for my blood. How my return home for respite gave them an opportunity to flank me - they had let too much fear into their heart and my curse had channeled that fear to come out at me. So I chose to run, escape the Alliance and hide in the one place I was safe - tucked away in a corner of the Empire - and how that lead me to find Lillté.

The Priest listened with his heart and offered to speak to the rest of the village. Promising that he understood and that Lillté can be my home as long as it is needed. He’s called a village meeting tonight - and told me not to come. So I’m in my room alone and writing this letter to you. Regardless of the outcome - I pray it’s a fate I can accept. 

This is why I can’t return to the Alliance. Why I must nestle into this corner of the Empire and wait for the tides of war to change one of the nation’s ways. The Alliance has no place for me now.

Marianne. 

~~~

I’m sorry about the teasing, I don’t understand a lot of things, and your full reasons are one of them. But I at least understand enough to know that I don’t understand enough. Does that make sense? 

I’ve been a little bit on edge lately. We’ve lost word from Ordelia territory recently and it’s left me a little bit tetchy. An Imperial squadron has set themselves up on pretty much every way one could try and get into that part of the Alliance so we’ve not been able to get a word in or out. Our pegasus scouts have been able to guess that Holst is still in control and is pushing back. Claude thinks they’re trying to soak up all the supply lines until they’ve forced to surrender or starve. The thought of Edlegard and her ilk resorting to such a plan sickens me to the gut. 

Ignatz and Leonie are taking an elite battalion to one of the lesser guarded routes to try and break a single way through and we’re all stuck waiting to hear back from them. I used to hate how she’d keep me awake, I guess you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, huh? I learned that lesson once with you and now she’s off too, never was too good at learning things the first time. Professor Manuela always used to tell me that before they went off to the Kingdom with Byleth and Dimitri. 

That’s left me to tend to Dorte again. Iggs had just about gotten to calm the darn horse down enough to ride him around and now he’s unhappy again being stuck with me. Then I remembered what you said, listen with your heart right? I gave that a go but he just ended up thrashing back still. I managed to get through your shell after a while so gotta see if I can get through his!

Hilda, certified horse carer. 

~~~

Dearest Hilda

Amongst all this dreer there is at least some news of respite, as I returned from assisting the local hunting troupe in the village I found a notice pinned to my door. A declaration of earnest thanks from several of the families that call Lillté their homes for all the work I’ve done and that I’m safe with them. The priest must have done their job well and told my tale honestly. 

I have come to realise how fond I truly have become of Lillté in my time here. To be treated as one of them reminds me of when I was first adopted by Margrave Edmund and how careful he was to let me come to him naturally. The situation was not too dissimilar from what lead me under his care in the first place: forced from home through forces powered by fear to be taken in by an unknown place - perhaps were I older when it happened I could have appreciated him more in the time I knew him.

Part of me is relieved by this news - another cautious. I know I cannot stay here forever, the more attached I become will make it harder to leave when the wind begins to stir again.

Marianne

~~~

Listen to yourself Marianne! All concerned and worried about growing attached. For a very clever woman you’re not particularly smart at times. Even I can tell you what’s wrong with that. Getting attached is the whole damn point of living!

People and things you like are worth the effort of putting up with the crap and those you love  _ aren’t _ worth the effort, but you do it anyway because that’s how much they mean to you. If Lillté has managed to worm its way into your heart next to me then you’re just going to have to put in twice the effort from here on! 

You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. There’s no way I’d’ve survived half the things you’ve kept coming back from, and every time you make it back to being the same ol’ Marianne at the end of it. If that crest is such a mark of Bad Luck like you insist it can be then either Lady Luck herself must be defending you from the onslaughts or your soul is strong enough to live three lives of strain by now. I’m still getting over you being gone and feel like spending every day laying in bed relaxing, if Leonie and Ignatz were still here to do the rest of my work I’d probably only get up to write these letters. 

Have fun with that, sounds like way too much work, one is enough for me so I’ll just stick to putting up with you <3

~~~

Dearest Hilda

I am honestly at a loss for words in response to your previous letter. You can be surprisingly wise when you want to be, do you know that? It’s one of your best features.

I suppose you may be right. A cold chill may get into your body quickly, but a soothing warmth lingers even once it’s gone, giving you a shield to help you take whatever the bitter sadnesses can throw at you. When we first met and I wasn’t sure what my feelings for you were I remember that same warmth too, during my lowest nights at Garreg Mach as I would sit alone in my room in silence - I remembered the lingering comfort from the times we studied and trained together and it helped me pray for something more than just release. Perhaps the ones you love are only not worth the effort at the time? The heartache they can bring when time pushes you apart being gently washed away by that prolonged feeling of peace that they give. Even now as the nights continue to get colder in my room at the Inn I can feel the warmth of your body from the first time we spoke, the first time we embraced each other, the first time I realised I loved you.

Perhaps one day in the far future I can bring you here - unite those parts of my heart if even for a short time. If there’s still a future for both of us once the fire of war has burnt the history books to ash then it is one that I would like to think Lillté can play at least a small part in. I’m sure the purely rural life may not be for you - but perhaps a visit so I can show you the nooks and crannies of it. I may have mentioned this in a previous letter, but it’s closer to nature than anything else I’ve experienced in my time. 

Being alone is often as tiring as being with others. With myself, Holst, Leonie, Ignatz, and countless others gone I pray you’re not too lonely up there. I hope you do take the time to rest amongst picking up the duties of others on the guard. Stay strong my love.

I’m aware it may not be much of a sign but please take the included gift. I’m afraid it is not as flashy a gift as what you have sent me in the past, but the metalsmith had a spare silver band that I have engraved with the symbol of the village. I hope this little piece of Lillté can act in my place at least for a brief time. 

Marianne.

~~~

Ignatz came back today. Leonie didn’t. The blockade to Ordelia was too much for them, he said. They tried their best to break through and get into the territory but were forced to retreat. The situation must be dire in Ordelia. Nothing short of a full-blown assault would get anything in there. I’m scarred for Holst. They cant have been fresh supplies brought in for months, and Ordelia was never a prosperous part of the Alliance. But this is war, these battles are going to be fought and won and lost anyway. So I just have to deal with it I guess huh? Claude dismissed me from work for the rest of the week given the news but for the first time I can remember this is a time I feel like I need something to keep me busy. 

~~~

Dearest Hilda

The news of Ignatz and Leonie has hurt to hear from all the way here - I cannot even begin to imagine. If I could be there for you now I would be. I pray that the ring can at least do part of the work for me.

Do you remember the young boy I mentioned? His mother returned to Lillté last night after a discharge due to extensive war wounds - she had been stationed at the very same choke point that Ignatz and Leonie were sent too. A soldier had taken her leg off and left her for dead, she said whoever it was left her in such pain but didn’t have the stomach to kill her outright. A charitable view is that he was hoping that this exact situation would occur - a cruel one… is too much to think about.

I did my best to try and ease her pain further, but damage so severe is impossible for even the strongest magic to heal. I shored up the end of her limb to help fight off any risk of infection but learning to move around again without aid is a quest I’m to be no help with.

She told me all about what happened too. Ignatz told the truth, the Alliance's defeat was slow and arduous but the Empire has retained control of the choke point. Supposedly they were only a few days from initiating their plan to push inwards to Ordelia’s manor itself. Thinking of how long her horseride home must have been - that’s likely to have already started. I never met Holst but from what I have heard from you he was a prideful figure, in their weakened state they would be safest to surrender. 

I suddenly feel much more pity for Lorenz, perhaps his submission at Myrddin was similarly tragic. Perhaps we were too quick to judge him for that action after all.

Marianne.

~~~

Dearest Hilda

I apologise for not waiting to receive a response before I write to you again - but this cannot wait. I was hoping to give you some space in your time of grieving over Holst but I’m afraid this news would burden your heart least coming from me. 

In the early hours of the morning we received word from the next village over; the knights have began a new round of drafting and have taken civilians from several surrounding villages far less qualified than I to increase their numbers, the final days of the war are finally upon us, for them to reach this far they must think it will be their final call to arms. It will never end though, the Empire is too big to fall in just once battle at this point, and if the Alliance falls then Edlegard must still head north into Fearghus and the bloodshed will continue.

The messenger told us that we are to be visited this evening for the same purpose - I fear my heart is too heavy to run again now it would be burdened with the knowledge of its consequences. Lillté has treated me well - and if my fleeing were to cause one more of their souls to be shipped to the front lines I could not live with myself. I will volunteer once they arrive - it will be safer for me to be there hidden in the army than to allow my return to be known any other way. I will be sent to the capital once again. 

Soon I will be seeing the beautiful streets of Derdriu I played on when I was young, I pray their beauty will not be ruined by the blood that is to run through them. Too I pray that their beauty is not outshone by yours.

Marianne 

~~~

The streets of Derdriu were typically some of the liveliest places in all of Fódlan. You could lose yourself for days in the crowds of wide-eyed children playing in the squares and the boisterous merchants peddling their wares. Locals would greet you with an earnest smile and the town guard would happily take the time out of their patrol to guide a bewildered outsider find their bearings in the nooks and crannies of its endless web of backstreets. It proudly boasted itself as a city you’d never have the time to fully explore; by the time you’d reached from the ports to the city walls another ship from afar would have landed and brought the city something new. Forever in motion like a waterwheel.

But now, the city felt still. The wheel finally ceased to turn and nothing but silence deafened those who dared not let their positions be known. Maybe it was just Marianne’s own choosing to only hear the silence, it hadn't rained for days, and she didn’t want to think about what was making her footsteps sound so wet. She ran through the streets with one thing on her mind, sword in hand, eyes focused on where she was going.

Her battalion had arrived by the southern entrance of Derdriu as daybroke, by then the Imperial invasion had already begun and was advancing through the city, heralded by Edelgard herself. She was to be apart of the second wave, to overwhelm any forces hoping to reclaim the ground that had already been pushed through. Marianne had quickly broken from her pack and taken to a sidestreet. Most of the other troops had never visited the capital before and simply took the most obvious paths they could to the frontline, it was her hope to use the labyrinthine layout of the district to her advantage to make her way to the Barracks where she hoped to find Hilda. 

After several minutes of sprinting from alley to corner to plaza, she made it to her goal. Atop the building were two shapes. She immediately recognised Claude. Standing strong and firm, presumably still putting on his same beaming smile in the face of his city being slowly washed away by the tide of the Empire. Beside him a brilliant white Wyvern resting gently on the building’s top with him. He raised his hand and began to speak. “You’re wasting your time Edelgard. We ditched this city once we knew you were coming. There’s nothing you want in this place anymore but me, only the most foolish of my men and women are still in here”.

‘Only the most foolish’, that sounded all too familiar, and as if to prove her point. A single stroke of vibrant pink crosser her vision, through one of the top level windows of the barracks, for a brief moment.

“Hilda!” She choked, suddenly conscious of her imperial bishops uniform, how it must look to be a single imperial unit detached from the pack making a beeline through the backstreets. 

Except she wasn’t alone, she tried to let her feet carried her into the building to give chase to that brief window of opportunity but she quickly found herself unable to push through a crowd. Of course she wasn’t alone she though, Claude wasn’t talking to no one. Looking again they all bore the red stains of war, both in their coat of arms arms and on their weapons. She had caught up with the front lines who had circled the barracks. 

“What’s going on?” she asked to anyone who would listen, a Warlock answered her question.

“A little trick we picked up on our way. We’re gunna do a blast of wind magic around the building and BAM, shatter all the windows and throw off the foundation of the buildings. Should get him off there so we can pluck him out of the sky.” the warlock laughed. 

Before she could process the answer, she heard the sound of a warhorn and the sudden force of a thousand storms blow past her, nearly knocking her off her feet. As she looked back up she saw the same streak of pink in the top-floor window looking down as the burst of wind blew into the building. Like the Warlock said, ever pane of glass on the front side shattered instantly, Marianne for a second thought she saw Hilda reach out to her before being lost in the shake of the building. 

As predicted, Claude climbed atop the Wyvern and begun to fly away, much of the army immediately began to give chase but Marianne pushed her way through and into the Barracks proper, it was a place she hadn’t been in what felt like forever but she cast aside the dozens of faded memories as she made her way through the building, up the stairs, and into Hilda’s old bunkroom. 

Marianne dropped her sword as all words escaped her

“Hilda…”

The blowout had hit her directly. Countless scars and shards of glass covered her arms and dress. A single prominent shard was wedged directly into her shoulder gave her horrible flashbacks to the last night she saw Margrave Edmund. Hilda tried to step towards Marianne but before her foot could touch the ground her knees buckled and she collapsed. 

Marianne desperately pulled out her healing tome and began to cast. Desperately combing over the wound in every way she could think. 

“No, I’m not letting this happen again. I’m not losing you, not you too, not anyone else ever again. I don’t care if it’s another thousand years of being hounded, I tried to run, I tried to fight, I just can’t anymore. I’m sorry Hilda. I just need to be here with you. That’s all I ever should have done.” As the tome disintegrated in her hand she pulled out her backup from the pack. Hilda’s gaze wandered, sometimes circling the room in any direction but towards Marianne. Sometimes it turned off completely as her heartbeat began to dwindle and stutters. Every blip caused her blood to race faster as she went through every trick she could remember to keep someone alive. 

Then the second tome faded too, Marianne reached for a third she knew she didn’t have and pulled out a Thunder spell, an emergency Warp, an entrapment of Ice, a nullification of poison, all that were no good now. She pulled Hilda’s body towards her and whispered, “...please”.

“Commander, we got a couple more in here”

Marianne felt the sharp tip of a lance press gently against the back of her neck as her moment was interrupted.

“You know the orders. Until we get the surrender from Claude we aim to kill” came a second voice from around the corner.

The lance pulled back, and the rustle of armour repositioning for the kill was heard. Marianne lowered her head, tired and defeated.

Then Hilda opened her eyes again.

Marianne sprang immediately into action, ducking to dodge the swipe and pulling Hilda to the ground with her. Hooking one arm under Hilda’s shoulders to get a full grip she took the soldier’s temporary reposition to scramble to grab whatever tome she could find, suddenly regretting throwing them out so cavalierly. Casting with one hand and nothing but hope she watched the freckles of ice latch onto the soldier’s armour from the air. Pushing him backwards as the sparks of frost spiked further into his chest. She took the chance to reach again for the next one, kicking herself backwards in the process as she pulled their two bodies backwards. Away from the soldier who after only a moment had reached for his spear again. Stalwartly blocking the entrance to the room and positioning to strike. Marianne pulled Hilda up and onto both of their feets, she took her lover’s firm own footing as further motivation. She cast the spell again into the doorward as the Soldier dodged back again. Giving Marianne just enough time to reposition their two bodies again. As Marianne threw the tome down, she reached for the other and stepped backwards herself.

The next thing she knew, Marianne and Hilda were falling. With no way out through the door, with no way of fighting through the building swarming with imperial knights, she took the path of least resistance and had pulled both their bodies through the empty window frame. And as the weightlessness overtook the two of their bodies, with Hilda clutched as tightly to her chest as she could. Marianne cast the other tome. 

She looked up at where the Warp had taken them, her first sight once she wiped her eyes were clouds of smoke rising into the clear blue sky. Their landing point looked over the ocean on a grassy cliff face. A cliff that Marianne recognised all too well. The still weakened Hilda opened her eyes and raised her hand to her partner’s cheek and brushed it gently. “I think we made it Marianne, you really do never cease to amaze, do you?”. Marianne brought Hilda further towards her until they were in full embrace. Listening gently to their heartbeats Marianne could hear her lover’s, it was gentle, but rhythmic, she would be fine. Marianne repositioned and let Hilda’s head rest on her lap before reaching to her ear and removing the delicate Spinel gemstone. Reuniting it with its partner by hooking it into Hilda’s one bare ear.

The two sat until nightfall came, the stars once again looking over their moment atop the quiet cliffside. An Imperial bugle echoed across the ocean to their resting place declaring that the Alliance had surrendered, fallen, or had been routed to insignificance. Derdriu’s city hall was burning, and the banner of the Empire was being carried to the city’s gates. Then, naught but silence - and the gentle giggle noise born from the cocktail of relief and fear that reverberated through their two hearts. A noise that would continue to be heard across Fódlan’s air for years to come. 


End file.
